


Just a Small Family Business

by deviantgumiho



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor & CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60 & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60 Has a Different Name, Other, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-08-11 07:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20149657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deviantgumiho/pseuds/deviantgumiho
Summary: The Anderson's were the most powerful and respected family in Detroit but with newcomers suddenly finding interest in them, Hank Anderson starts to feel the need to be more careful of the people surrounding him and his sons. Something is starting to stir up behind the scenes of the metropolis...





	1. I.

# I.

Nighttime had long fallen over the city of Detroit, but the metropolis was still glistening over the river. A mix of lights coming from the various billboards and street lamps, and the metallic shine coming from the most recent high rise buildings — that stood tall, well over the original skyline of the city — making them look like glass shards. The streets in the downtown area ever so lively even though it was well past midnight. Cafes, lounges and nightclubs being the only activities accessible at this time.

Looking from the outside, Detroit was a thriving city that looked towards the future with a positive prospective. With Cyberlife working along the city council, Detroit was most likely going to be one of the leading cities in the development process of the nation. A city of technological wonders and progress. However, even if the surface was a glistening cluster of lights reflecting on the dark waters of the Detroit River, the city, like the river itself, had murky depths. Detroit was a city of lights and shadows, where the two have learned to coexist and sometimes cooperate. The local law enforcement agencies and the city council seemed to have the control over the city but that was just a facade for the prying eyes of the outside world.

The reality of Detroit was very different: those who truly had power over everything, were a small group of families, who created on their own an intricate system of loyalties and rivalries — the Anderson’s, the Manfred's, the Williams’, the Kamski’s and the Andronikov’s. These families had money and sure, power as well, but only one of them really had it all. Money and power make a family strong and their name known, but what truly elevated you to the next level, was respect — and the Anderson’s had the respect of the whole city.

The head of the family, Hank Anderson, was truly a man who knew his worth. He had the right connections and everywhere he went the attention would almost always shift to him. Mr. Anderson was a man who loved his city and a philanthropist; he knew that to help it prosper, he’d have to give back to the city as much as the city let him have it his way. Social events weren’t a foreign concept throughout the metropolis, but the ones hosted by Mr. Anderson were the highlight of the city life because that was where the biggest part of the public funds came from.  
Whoever, buying the respect from his fellow citizens was never his cup of tea. To him, respect was something that had to be earned and something that must always be reminded, no matter how. It was a subject that he held very dear and Mr. Anderson had his ways to make it very clear. Those who crossed his path wrong footed, know how dangerous he can be and not many were lucky enough to tell about their encounter.

Mr. Anderson’s looks emphasised his strong aura. Grey hair neatly combed back except for a single rogue strand of hair, hanging loosely on his forehead, his beard trimmed and defined. His eyes an icy shade of blue and his eyebrows slightly furrowed into a permanent frown on his face made him look as intimidating as his vibe gave off. His presence often made people think twice before approaching him — that and the ever looming presence of his three elder sons behind his back, Connor, Axton and Richard.

To say that the three of them were very protective of their father and younger brother, Cole, was an understatement. Wherever they went, the triplets would follow suit.  
Hank Anderson never felt the need of flimsy services such as bodyguards or mercenaries when his sons were around. They knew how get things done themselves. Each of the triplets was dangerous in their own way but when they worked together they were a death machine — unlike those who came across their father, their victims didn’t have the luxury to get out of their grasp _unchanged_.

Deceiving looks ran among the family. The twins, Connor and Axton, looked like anything but dangerous. Warm brown eyes on faces adorned by freckles, their expressions calm and almost friendly. Hank had once fondly told them how they reminded him of poodles while ruffling their curly hair, receiving toothy grins from the two — at that time six years old — boys. Their once unruly deep brown hair now slicked back, leaving just a single strand of shorter hair on the front hang freely. Despite being two faces of the same coin, the twins had opposite personalities. Whereas Connor was more of a thinker, Axton would be the type to act before thinking. Of the pair, he was the explosive one while Connor was more controlled. Connor was a perfectionist while Axton tended to be messier. Despite everything, though, they balanced each other perfectly.  
On the other hand — Richard, despite being the third twin, he was somewhat different from his brothers. He was taller and had a stronger build, his eyes being the same icy shade as his father’s and like him, Richard always kept a slight frown, that made him look intimidating and difficult to approach. While his brothers were more extroverted, Richard was more of an introvert, a trait of his that, along with his looks, made it hard for him to socialise.  
Richard was particularly attached to his younger brother, Cole. The two had a special relationship that Hank found heartwarming.

Tonight, Hank and his sons, joined Detroit’s nightlife — although their motive was anything but simple leisure. Word had it that Detroit’s newcomer, Mr. Andronikov, had sent one of his lackeys after the Anderson’s and tonight, Hank was determined to find out why.

“A little bird told me you were after my family, Mr. Colbert,” Hank spoke, as he adjusted his left leather glove “I might already know who sent you but… I hoped you could confirm my guessing.”  
The apparent flatness in Mr. Anderson’s voice sent a chilling shiver down the other man’s spine. He wasn’t really in the best position.

The dock was deserted for the night, illuminated by lampposts every 50 metres or so. Despite the fact that they were in the middle of Summer, Colbert was trembling like a leaf. He got cornered, there was no way he could get out of this unscathed. With the twins by his sides, Richard behind him and Hank a couple of metres in front of him, he was trapped.

This wasn’t supposed to happen, he always made sure no one knew his real intentions nor ever spoke to anyone about whom the work came from. He kept rethinking, second guessing. What did he do this time that led him to the utter failure of his mission? “_Think, Alan. Think!_” He kept telling himself, unfazed by the request of the man in from of him.

“What’s your decision, Mr. Colbert,” Hank’s voice interrupted his train of thoughts, his body froze after realising the man had moved closer “this encounter could be very quick and civilised, nobody gets hurt and everybody moves on… or this could be really unpleasant. But that’s completely up to whether you’re willing to cooperate or not.”

“Why do you need me if you already know who I’m working for?” Colbert snorted, a sudden wave of arrogance rushing through him. Quite out of place and risky considering the situation he was in.

Hank remained unfazed, an eyebrow raised as he gave the man a stare that would’ve made any other person cower. He nodded, pursing his lips. It seemed, Mr. Colbert wasn’t going to cooperate any sooner.  
“I see you’ve made your choice.” He then looked at Connor and nodded, giving him a silent authorisation.

Connor nodded back and glanced over his two brothers before the three closed the distance that separated them from Colbert.  
Richard quickly restrained the man’s arms behind his back, his grasp on Colbert’s forearms remained firm as the latter began squirming.

“Let me go, I ain’t telling you shit-“ Colbert spat out, but was soon cutoff, air forcefully pushed out of his lungs as Connor’s fist connected with the centre of his abdomen. The man’s head fell forward, had it not been for Richard’s grasp, he would’ve already fallen onto his knees, whimpering in pain.

“Not so tough now, eh?” Axton scoffed, crouching down to look at the man’s face. “What happened, cat got your tongue?” He added, a smug grin painted on his face as he cracked his knuckles.

“It would be in your best interest to talk, Mr. Colbert,” Connor warned him, his voice low and threatening “I really don’t want to use my full force on you.”

After regaining his breath, Alan straightened back up, wincing in pain but not losing an ounce of arrogance whatsoever.  
“Oh, you even held back for me, pretty boy? What, scared to mess up your-“  
Another blow. Although this time, it was a courtesy from Axton. Colbert’s whole body jerked to the side from the hit he just received in his face, a couple of bloody teeth flying out of his mouth.

Hank kept his distance, watching the twins have their way with the man. After a while, he signalled them to stop and Richard loosened his grip, letting go of Colbert. His body hit the ground like a dead weight but the man was still alive, despite being now a groaning, bloody mess.  
Hank walked closer to him, before kneeling down and lifting Alan’s head, yanking him by his hair.

“Mr. Colbert, what’s the motive of the interest of your employer towards my family?” He asked but the man said nothing. Instead, he smirked before spitting out blood on Hank’s face.  
“Fuck you, Anderson.” Colbert jeered as Hank let go of his hair, after briefly staring at him.  
Hank concluded that Colbert wasn’t going to talk even if he were held at gunpoint and was therefore, either a fool with masochist tendencies or just blindly loyal to his employer, careful not to ever mention them, even if it meant losing their own life.

He stood back up, taking out a handkerchief and cleaning the mix of spit and blood off his face.  
“Wrong choice, Colbert.” He sentenced and turned around, making his way back to his black sedan. The triplets took this as a request to clean up the mess and call it a night. As Hank yanked open one of the passenger doors, he threw a quick glance at his boys.  
Colbert was being, once again, held up on his feet, this time by Connor, while Richard and Axton used him as a punching bag. He hoped that Mr. Andronikov wouldn’t mind a sudden staff reduction.

Tonight was quite an unfruitful night for Hank. Leaning back into his seat, he massaged his temples in a circular motion.  
Having Zlatko Andronikov on his family for whatever the reason might be, was just added tension into his life. Not to mention the fact that new mayor of Detroit, Amanda Stern, had started enquiring around about him. Apparently she opposed the current _management_ of the city.

After a while, the trunk of the sedan opened and closed after something had been deposited inside with a muffled _thud_. Hank was then joined by his sons. Richard sat at the wheel and Axton in the passenger seat next to him, and Connor took his place next to their father.  
“Relentless and arrogant until the end” Connor commented and without another word being said, the car engine roared to life before speeding through downtown, towards the outskirts of the city.


	2. II.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy family moment between Richard and Cole  
Elijah Kamski at the Anderson mansion  
Someone broke in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here are the visual references for the anderson mansion and Eli's car!  
mansion: https://archivaldesigns.com/products/presidential-estate-house-plan  
kamski-mobile: https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/2019-volvo-s60-t6-feat.jpg

II.

The sound of footsteps and nails scraping on the hardwood flooring, accompanied by the gleeful laughter of a child, echoed around the various corners of the mansion. A boy — around the age of seven — came rushing down to the foyer, sliding down the curved handlebar of the staircase, giggling as he did so. Once he stabilised himself at the feet of the staircase, the boy looked up to the upper floor, where a huge St. Bernard was standing, huffing and wagging his tail as he waited to follow his human friend.

“Quick Sumo! Come here!” The boy called, his expression euphoric as he watched the giant cloud of fur bolting down the stairs. The two then ran straight ahead, past the living room and out to the back of the house before plunging into the glimmering swimming pool — or at least the boy did. Sumo hesitated a bit, whining and moving back and forth along the poolside, unsure whether he was going to jump into the refreshing water.

“Come on, boy! Jump!” The kid encouraged him and laughed as he got splashed when the dog leaped into the pool.

After a while, the little boy glanced over to the outdoor lounge, where Richard was leaning against one of the columns with a towel draped over one of his arms, a warm smile plastered across his brother’s face.

“You know you’ll be the one to dry Sumo after this, right?” Richard only showed this softer side of him only to Cole. As much as he loved the twins as well, there was nothing he wouldn’t do for the youngest. Maybe it was due to the fact that he was the only one in the family who truly needed any sort of protection.

Cole wasn’t a clueless kid. He knew about his father’s businesses — at least as far as the man let on. His older brothers and his father always did their best not to expose Cole to the darker side of their job, he was just a child after all. Hank did the same thing for the triplets. He waited until they were old enough to know what there is to know about that kind of life, from trivial things to combat and weapon handling. Cole would too, learn about all of that in due time.

But for now, he needn't worry for his brothers were around.

“No fair! Plus, he could always lay out in the sun and dry his fur that way,” Cole protested as he swam after Sumo. As if understanding Cole’s suggestion, the dog crawled out of the pool and after shaking off the water, he made his way towards the lanai connected to the lounge where he laid down, tired. “See? He understands me.” Cole added.

Richard chuckled and shook his head.

“Come on, Cole. Fun time is over,” he gestured Cole to get out of the pool and the boy complied “Mr. Kamski is on his way here.” Richard added as he wrapped the towel around Cole’s tiny figure before leading him back indoors.

“Another business dinner?” Cole sighed, slouching as the two made their way upstairs. If there was anything else he despised more than homework, that would’ve been business dinners. For Cole, that meant having to go through a full course dinner with adults talking about numbers, legal procedures and ways to avoid those that might arise issues in the future, partnerships and whatnot — topics that Cole didn’t quite grasp yet. The worst part of it all was that it meant that neither Hank nor his brothers would have time for him, and even if they did allow him into the study, he knew he’d get bored pretty quick. There would be times in which Cole wished he weren’t the youngest of the family — or that his family wouldn’t be so important.

But then he’d remember that no matter how busy his father and brothers were, afterwards they’d always give him their complete attention and that never failed to make him so happy, making him forget whatever caused his turmoils.

“I’m afraid yes, little man,” Richard replied, following his little brother into his room “father said Mr. Kamski had something really important to discuss about.” he frowned imperceptibly, pondering about what could be the reason behind the priority of the discussion.

“...Can I ask you something, Richard?” Cole asked, his head peeking from behind the door of the shared bathroom between his room and Cole’s.

“What is it, Cole?” his gaze softened when he met his brother’s eyes, the same shade as his own.

“Just for this time...” Cole trailed off and thought about his question a little bit longer “just for this time, can you stay with me?” he asked, even though deep down he already knew the answer.

“Cole...” Richard sighed as he frowned, his head slightly tilted to the side “as much as I’d love to, I really cannot.” He knew this was why Cole never liked business dinners and it hurt him to deny his little brother this way.

“But Connor and Axton are gonna be there as well! Maybe you could ask them to pass the info to you,” Cole tried to compromise “not to mention that there’s also dad!” Cole pleaded, slightly pushing the door more open and no longer just peeking out with his head.

“I know what you’re getting at, Cole,” Richard’s voice was soft as he kneeled down, trying to match the boy’s height with his “but father has requested for Connor, Axton and I to be present at the meeting.” He felt his heart shrink as Cole frowned, the corners of his mouth turned downward and his eyes staring at the ground.

“I’m sorry it has to be this way every time,” was all Richard could manage at the moment “but I promise you it won’t be for long. We’ll try to be as brief as possible and then we can have our family time. Would that be okay for you?” He tried to look for any glimpse of a positive reaction from his little brother, his frown relaxing as the child nodded. “Go on now, I’ll look for your clothes while you wash up.” He then offered.

Cole turned on his feet and closed himself inside the bathroom. He knew he could always trust Richard’s words. Whatever he promised, he always kept his word.

————

Mr. Kamski’s [blood red sedan](https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/2019-volvo-s60-t6-feat.jpg) slowly made its way up the [property](https://archivaldesigns.com/products/presidential-estate-house-plan) driveway before stopping in correspondence with the front porch, where Connor and Axton were standing at each side of the mahogany front door.

A blonde young woman — who they recognised to be Mr. Kamski’s PA, Miss. Chloe Hastings — emerged from the other side of the car and rushed to open the door for Elijah.

“Thank you, Chloe.” He smiled as he stepped out of the car and made his way up the few stairs of the porch, followed shortly after by Chloe.

“Good evening, Mr. Kamski. Miss Hastings,” Connor greeted as he and Axton held open the doors, inviting the pair to step inside “our father is waiting for you in the living room.”

“Hello, Connor. Axton,” Elijah nodded, looking at the other twin “thank you, I’m sure I can find my own way there.” He advanced, deeper into the foyer and past the gallery that opened to the huge living room.

Hank was, indeed, waiting for Elijah. The man stood next to the fireplace with two glasses of Prosecco standing on the mantle, a warm smile slowly spreading across his face as he saw the younger man come into his field of view.

“Elijah, it’s so nice having you here,” Hank shook his hand and proceeded to do the same with his assistant “hello, Miss Hastings.” he smiled, before turning around and grabbing the glasses behind him for his guests.

“Mr. Anderson, thank you for clearing your schedule and meeting us this evening,” Chloe started debriefing as she accepted the drink from the man in front of her “there are some insurance aspects we’d like to discuss regarding your businesses, that might turn out very positive for you”

“Well, if was just that, you could’ve just sent me an email,” Hank pursed his lips, readjusting the buttons of his beige waistcoat “or I could’ve come down to your office, you know I don’t mind changing my schedule for you, Eli.”

“And I appreciate that, Mr. Anderson,” Elijah took a final sip from his glass before Chloe gently removed it from his hands “but you see, I don’t trust the people around me enough — except for Chloe, of course, to have you come down to my office.” the young man then leaned closer, his expression suddenly turned darker, a mix of seriousness and worry that clouded his blue eyes.

“There’s something else I needed to tell you, Hank,” he revealed, his voice lowered almost into a whisper “and I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

Hank frowned, whatever it was it must’ve been highly confidential, seeing that Elijah didn’t even trust his own people to be around.

“I’m sure we’ll have time to discuss about that after dinner.” He glanced over Elijah’s shoulder. Connor was standing not too far from them. His head slightly turned to the side, his eyebrows pulled together as his eyes squinted. Hank recognised his expression, he knew that his son was trying to read the situation in response to his own reaction to Elijah’s words.

The mood lightened up a bit when Cole rushed down the overlook and everyone looked up at him. The child stopped on his tracks and froze, as if he had just been caught doing something he shouldn’t have.

“Hello, Cole.” Elijah gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes but still friendly.

“Good evening, Mr. Kamski.” Cole greeted, slowly peeking from the railing. Although Mr. Kamski was no stranger to him, Cole couldn’t help but feel uneasy around him.

“Go join your brothers in the dining room, young man,” Hank told him, his voice was calm and soft despite the imposing nature of his request “we’ll be joining you shortly.”

Cole just nodded firmly before disappearing for a brief moment and reappearing again in the foyer, rushing to the dining room. Connor silently followed him suit.

“Well,” Hank pursed his lips “let’s go get a seat, shall we?” He suggested as he led his two guests towards the dining room.

The dinner was served on time, by the staff that worked at the mansion. Many topics were discussed, most of which involved technical terminologies that sparked confusion and curiosity within Cole. Throughout the whole evening, Cole had tried to distract himself with the food in front of him. Happily tasting whatever was of his liking and… well, pushing around whatever he didn’t like, and when the adults were too engrossed in their topics, he’d feed his leftover to Sumo, who was casually lying at his feet under the table.

Cole thought nobody had seen him but two pairs of eyes would shoot a glance at him now and then — Axton tried his best to refrain from snorting when he realised what his little brother was up to and Richard found his behaviour very relatable as he, too, would do the same thing, except with a different dog.

After the dinner was over, as Cole predicted, the adults locked themselves inside his father’s studio.

Cole thought that he could maybe make the time pass by faster by watching the television inside the family room. He turned on the huge flat screen and jumped on one of the couches, signalling Sumo to come lay beside him as well.

As an animation film played on the screen, Cole felt his become heavier and heavier. He thought that there would absolutely be no consequences if he dozed off there, on the couch. Surely either his father or one of his brothers would notice him when they would come out of the studio. But a sudden noise — of something that had tumbled over — made him jolt up, now more awake than ever, waking up the dog beside him too.

Sumo suddenly jumped off the couch, a low growl coming from his chest as he pointed towards the ajar door that led to the mud room. Cole’s body tense up, he was petrified. He wanted to scream or do anything, but just couldn’t — that, until Sumo started ferociously barking. From then, things happened very fast.

After Sumo began barking, his brothers stormed inside the room, followed by his father, Mr. Kamski and Miss Hastings.

The sound of rushed movements coming from the mud room, more things falling over. Another door being swung open, slamming against another door. _The utility room_.

Connor cursing and muttering something about someone breaking in. Axton sprinting into the mud room, after the _intruder_.

Richard’s hands wrapped around his arms, gently shaking him but Cole was unresponsive, his mouth slightly ajar. There was an intruder in their house and he was just steps away from him. The realisation came down on him all of a sudden, in the form of hiccups and salty tears.

Richard quickly pressed Cole against his chest, his shoulder slowly dampening. He brought his hand to his brother’s hair and caressed it, trying to soothe him and calming him down. Richard effortlessly picked him up, nestling him against the side of his body. He looked at his father, both silently confirming what Elijah had revealed them back in the studio.

After a while, Axton came back and hunched over.

“Whoever they were,” he tried to speak and catch his breath at the same time “they’re just gone. Probably through the woods around the property. I lost them, I’m sorry.”

“You did what you could, Axton,” Hank frowned, acknowledging the gravity of the situation. Things were starting to go downhill and unless he did something quickly, who knows what was going to happen to his family. “tomorrow, we’ll look around the area. Figure out how they got in.” He added.

“They’ve started making their moves, Mr. Anderson,” Elijah spoke for the first time ever since delivering the worrying news to the older man back in the studio, and the latter turning his neck just enough to look at him “I’d suggest you start fighting fire with fire, for the sake of your loved ones.”

Hank bit the inside of his cheeks. Defensive tactics were not going to work in these circumstances, he would have to think like them, even if it meant spilling blood — at least not from his side. Hank straightened up, appearing more determined and imposing.

“Don’t worry Elijah,” he fixed his tie, a strange cold light burned into his eyes “I’ll make sure they taste their own _poison_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloo! here we are at second chapter, i hope you enjoyed it as much i did writing it! see you on the next chapter~


	3. III.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard wakes up in the middle of the night to a very disturbing dream. Hank and Cole visit Carl and Markus Manfred at home. There's a situation to be dealt with at the nightclub.

III.

It was a dark night, one without stars, passing dark clouds hiding the moon behind them now and then and casting eerie shadows on the mansion, usually illuminated by the system of outdoor lights — but not tonight. The house was silent and dark, the inhabitants fast asleep in their rooms. Usually the silence would have been broken by the sound of Hank’s snoring, muffled by the heavy doors of the master suite on the first floor, but tonight everything was still. So still it felt…  _ weird _ . 

Upstairs, four boys laid in their beds. Two in the eastern wing of the house and two in the western wing, their rooms connected through a shared bathroom. 

_ Drip _

_ Drip _

The faint sound of something dripping on the floor. 

One of the boys laid still in his bed. His expression relaxed, mouth slightly ajar as he weightlessly floated in a void. One of his hands hung slightly over the limit of his bed and the other draped over a stuffed teddy bear that he always slept with. 

In the other room, behind the second door in the western wing of the floor, another boy’s slumber was being disturbed by night terrors.

He jolted awake, his shirt damp with sweat. He breathed heavily trying to calm himself down and he ran his hands down his face, wiping away the sweat that pearled his forehead. He looked around. He was in his room again. He was no longer scared but there was something in the air that made him feel…  _ weird and anxious.  _

He got up and slowly made his way inside the bathroom, where he gulped down some water in the process of refreshing his face. He turned off the faucet and started making his way back to bed. Then he heard it. 

_ Drip _

He must have closed the faucet a bit loosely, he checked again. The faucet was indeed tightly closed. 

_ Drip _

The boy checked the tub as well. Nothing, not even a single droplet of water. Something started boiling at the pit of his gut, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. 

_ Drip _

It didn’t come from the bathroom. The boy slowly turned his head toward his younger brother’s room. The door was open just enough to see into his room. 

_ Drip _

He slowly stepped inside. The clouds outside had cleared and the faint light came through the windows, bathing the room in pale moonlight. His heart sunk at the sight he was offered. 

He saw the silhouette of the child laying in his bed, his expression was relaxed, his body so  _ unnaturally still  _ in his usual sleeping position. There was something in the air, a smell he had so many times smelled while beating people into pulp. 

_ Blood _ . 

Blood that slicked brown strands of hair to the forehead of the child, pooling on the pillow under his head and on the bed. Blood that was slowly dripping down on the hardwood floor from his little pale, cold hand.

He saw his own eyes staring back at him behind slightly droopy eyelids. Eyes that were once so shiny and full of life, now lifeless. 

“…C-Cole,” he choked, air and voice getting trapped inside his throat. He felt the room starting to spin, his chest felt like it was on fire —

“COLE!” Richard shrieked, jolting awake once again. His chest heaving and his heart threatening to burst out of his chest. He looked around, he was in his room. Everything was bathed by the light coming from the outdoor lights. 

His eyes automatically averted in the direction of his brother’s room and his body automatically followed them, bolting out of the sheets and out of his own room. He had his hand on the doorknob and was about to twist it when he suddenly stopped. The fear of seeing that gruesome scene in front of him again, taking over him. 

He wasn’t prepared, not now, not ever. He closed his eyes and images of blood and a pair of eyes, of a colour so similar to his, lifelessly staring back at him, flashed before his eyes. He swore that the only sound on this floor was that of his heart, pounding ever so quickly and hard it echoed in his ears. 

_ Thump, thump, thump. _

But that wasn’t the sound of his own heart, rather it was the sound of his twins, both making their way down the corridor towards him, almost running. 

“Richard, what happened?” Connor asked. His eyes darted back and forth between Richard and his hand that was still firm on the doorknob. 

“I… Cole…” Richard managed to say in between his shallow breaths, his was starting to feel dizzy and only realised now that he’d been hyperventilating the whole time. 

At the mention of Cole’s name, Connor’s eyes widened in an expression that was a mixture of concern and panic. 

“Alright, I’m going in.” Axton pushed past both of them, removing Richard’s hand from the doorknob. 

Richard froze, wanting to turn his head so that he wouldn’t have to see the scene that he knew was waiting for them. 

He was waiting for his brothers to rush inside the room, desperately shouting for their little brother’s name. 

Waiting to see Connor vainly trying to shake the child awake, his hands and clothes soaked in blood. 

Waiting for Axton to bark orders at him, to call for an ambulance and finding himself frozen on place, unable to do anything but stare in horror. Hank would’ve probably rushed upstairs already, hearing the commotion in the middle of the night, and breaking as he saw his youngest son, his little Cole, in a puddle of blood. 

But none of that arrived.

Axton opened the door and turned on the lights by pressing his hand on the light panel, causing Cole to shift in his bed and burying himself deeper in the sheet. Sumo, on the other hand, briefly woke up to check the environment before resting his head on his paws again, going back to sleep. 

Richard’s heartbeat slowed down to a normal rate and his whole body relaxed. Now that he checked for himself that it was just a bad dream, he allowed himself to calm his own breathing and try to erase the memories of his nightmare. 

“Seems like nothing is out of place,” Axton whispered as he turned off the lights, the room was once again dimly lit by Cole’s whale sleep light on the nightstand, and slowly closed the door shut behind him “what’s gotten into you?” He asked Richard, his voice was a whispered shout. 

“It… It was just a nightmare. Cole, he…” he tried to explain, bits of the nightmare flashing once again before his eyes “he was in a puddle of blood a-and I couldn’t do anything… It felt so real, so when I woke up again I thought… something happened to him.” 

There was a moment of silence between the twins before Connor spoke up. 

“I understand, after all I had a similar dream the other night,” he frowned, hugging himself as to protect himself from the memories of his own nightmare slowly creeping up to him “although, not as gory.” 

“Shit…” Axton’s eyes darted back and forth between Connor and Richard before covering his own face with his hands and breathing in “looks like the events from the other evening fucked us up, huh?” 

There was no need for a reply. The triplets knew how each of them was feeling about the whole ordeal. What had disturbed them about what happened, was not the fact that someone had broken into the intimate spaces of their home — but the fact that he was so dangerously close to Cole, silently observing him from the shadows and the fact that whoever they were, they were still out there on the loose. 

Eventually, they all retreated back into their own rooms but Richard found it difficult to fall asleep again, concerns about Cole crowding his mind. When everything went quiet enough for the young man to drift off to sleep, the stars were fading away and the navy blue of the night sky gradually faded to lighter shades, preparing that side of the world to welcome a new day. 

————

Ever since that event, Hank had upgraded the security system surrounding the mansion itself, Hidden surveillance cameras and various alarm systems directly hooked to DPD’s network was put every 10 metres along the perimeters of the property. The security system was also connected to the parking sensors inside the car garage, meaning that it went off automatically only when all the cars had left the building but Hank and the triplets also possessed a remote to activate it manually.

That morning, the alarm system went off automatically as the whole family had left, each one of them setting off towards the city with different business to take care of.

With the school being out for the Summer and considering their current situation, Hank didn’t trust to leave his youngest song alone — regardless of the fact that the house was protected by a state-of-the-art alarm system. 

As Hank took the highway entry lane towards Detroit’s inner city, he glanced in the rear mirror in order to take a look at Cole. The boy was silently watching out the window, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand and looking as bored as ever. 

“Something wrong, chipmunk?” he asked, as he lowered the volume of the radio news until it was just background noise. His voice was soft as he spoke Cole’s special nickname, which Hank used only when he was alone with him. It was their own unique, special thing. 

Cole looked at his father through the rear mirror and shook his head. 

“I’m just bored, I guess,” he replied, going back to staring at the passing scenery “I wish we could’ve brought Sumo with us. What if he feels lonely, dad? All alone, in that big house without anybody keeping him company.” Cole asked, eyeing Axton’s sports car speed past them. He wondered if his brother would take him on a car ride someday. 

Hank smiled. Despite whatever it is that’s happening around their family, Cole’s main concern still remained Sumo. 

“He’s gonna be okay, chipmunk. Don’t worry about him,” he chuckled “plus, aren’t you happy that it’s finally just you and me?” he faked a hurt voice, gaining a toothy smile from his son.

“Of course I’m happy, dad!” Cole exclaimed. It had been a while since the last time the two spent more than a few minutes by themselves, without the triplets hovering around them.

The first part of Hank’s morning schedule went by quickly, mainly due to Cole also being there with him. He tried to keep the various meetings as brief as possible, knowing that the child would get bored pretty quickly. Plus the man had never been a big fan of unnecessary lengthy meetings himself. 

“That was the last meeting,” Hank announced, holding Cole’s hand in one and calling the elevator with the other “how about we pay Carl a visit. Would you like that, champion?”

“Yes, I’d love to!” Cole’s whole face lit up with a large smile at the mention of Carl’s name. 

The elevator doors opened and Hank found himself face to face with one of the few people that had enough guts and foolishness to undermine the safety of his private sphere, Amanda Stern herself — plus her own circle of ass-kissing assistants. 

Hank could feel his face harden into a scowl as Amanda held his stare, a slight twitch in the upper right corner of her lip betraying the smug smirk she was trying not to show. Neither of them said a word, they didn’t need to. The little staring contest they were holding was enough to make it clear that neither of them appreciated being in the same room — let alone standing a few steps away from each other. It was like two gods had clashed and neither of them wanted to falter and give the other the satisfaction of winning the battle.

The battle went on even when one of Amanda’s assistants decided to butt in.

“Excuse me, sir. Could you, please step aside?” she asked, the slight annoyance in her voice badly concealed. However, Hank didn’t budge nor did he pay attention to the tiny PA in front of him. The PA then turned to Amanda “Mayor Stern, please, we have to be on our way. Everyone is already in the press room,  _ and we’re running late _ .” The annoyance growing more evident in that last part of her sentence, most probably direct to Hank.

“I’m sure that the corridor is large enough for your little circle to walk  _ around  _ me, Mayor Stern.” Hank spoke for the first time, again, completely ignoring the pesky little assistant. The girl must be new in town. Regardless of whoever respected him or not, nobody really dared to show any form of attitude towards Hank — unless they had a death wish, of course. 

“But don’t worry, I won’t be holding you here any longer.” Still, he made no sign of wanting to step aside.

“I  _ apologise _ for my assistant’s rudeness, Mr. Anderson,” Amanda replied, without really meaning it “I’m sure we’ll have another occasion for an  _ amicable _ chat. We’ll be on our way, then.” She had put on a fake smile and dropped it right away.

Amanda walked right past him and walked down the hallway Hank had came from, followed by her little entourage. Hank let out a breath he didn’t he was holding in and he felt his whole body relax after unconsciously tending up at the sudden encounter. He grabbed the closing elevator doors with the hand that wasn’t holding Cole’s and forced them to reopen again before stepping in.

“Who was that, dad?” Cole’s tiny voice snapped him out of his thoughts, he could hear a slight concern in the tone of his voice. Hank pressed the button of the garage level on the sleek elevator panel and gave his son a little smile. The doors closed and the elevator started its descent. 

“That was the city’s new mayor, Mrs. Stern.” he replied, not really sure about what else he could tell the child.

“She doesn’t really seem to like you much, papa.” Cole remarked. His son was very perceptive indeed. Hank gave him a lopsided smirk and shrugged.

“I guess you can’t always be liked, buddy.” he paused, looking at the numbers on the panel decreasing at a steady pace. “Actually, you know what? I’m gonna take this chance to teach you that you won’t always be liked or loved,” 

Cole stared at him, eager to learn something new and mildly alarmed by the fact that he would, one day, be surrounded by people who might genuinely not like him. That was something he’d never experienced. His whole life he’d been surrounded by people who only showed him love or found him likeable. But then again, his social circle only included his family, his father’s closest friends — which weren’t many either, and Alice Williams. Yes, he could count her as his own little friend outside of his familiar circle who wasn’t an adult. Other than her, Cole didn’t know many kids his age. He wasn’t really the social type at school. 

“There will be people who will try to hurt you, people who will claim to be your friends but will act behind your back,” he paused and looked at Cole “now, it’s okay to not always be liked but you’ll have to learn not to bend the knee to anyone like that, don’t let them trap you in their mind games and make a fool out of you, okay?” Cole simply nodded. The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened to the garage level. 

————

Carl Manfred was Hank’s most trusted friend, their longstanding friendship of twenty-two years saw them helping each other in many occasions. The two had met when the triplets were just six years old. Carl saw them grow up into the fine young men they were today and now history was repeating itself with Cole.

Carl also had two sons. Markus, the eldest, and Leo. Both from two different women. Hank had only the pleasure to meet Markus but never his younger brother. The old man’s relationship with his youngest son was strained and something he didn’t really like talking about — but Hank knew, he was there when Carl had to deal with his son spending more time in rehab than he did at home. Even now, despite claiming to be clean — at least according to Carl — Leo was rarely at home. Both Markus and Carl took it as Leo’s indirect way of telling them that he’s moved out. 

Carl’s house was like his own art gallery. No matter in which direction Cole turned, he’d always find one of the old man’s stunning works. He genuinely loved it here, every time they visited him he’d always feel so inspired as if the environment itself encouraged him to create something beautiful too. 

Sometimes, Markus would sit him down on one of the sofas, provide him with a blank sketchbook and some coloured pencils, and tell him to let his fantasy flow. Some other times, when Carl was inside the studio working on another painting, he’d ask Cole whether he wanted to paint too. A question that had never been declined by the child, but was rather met with a joyful “Yes!”. Markus had even got Cole his own paint by number watercolour kit and boy did he love that. 

While Hank talked to Carl, it was pretty easy to keep Cole occupied here. If not by drawing and painting, Markus would either teach him how to play chess or just let the kid sit next to him while he played the piano and occasionally, teach him simple tunes — like he was doing in that moment. 

“I’m going to organise an art exhibition and auction,” Carl announced, as he and Hank watched their sons immersed in their little piano lesson “here, at my humble house. Next Saturday at 8 PM. I want to get rid of some of my old art pieces as well as selling off a couple of my recent work.”

“Have you already thought about the invitees?” Hank asked, absentmindedly and too immersed in watching his son. 

“It’s going to be an official event so many art critics, friends and you know, that whole ‘people that matter’ charade.” he paused, using a mocking tone on that last bit of sentence “Most of them buy art just to be able to brag about having one of my pieces in their house to their friends. Not many of them really understand the meaning behind my works. Moreover, Hank, there will also be Mayor Stern.” Carl’s words made Hank turn, finally looking at him with a surprised expression on his face. 

“You invited her too?” Hank had never questioned his friend’s decision, but there was a first time for everything. 

“I had to do it, I told you it’s an official event. I know neither of you are on neutral grounds with each other but just try and think of her presence there as mere formal duty.” Carl said, raising an eyebrow, slightly tilting his head to the side as he did. 

Hank pressed his lips in a thin line. His eyebrows furrowed, not really sure about what to say only to give up. The last thing he wanted to do was turning down Carl’s invitation. 

“Fine, I’ll just try not to think about it but,” he paused and pointed at Carl “know that I’m only doing this for you.”

Carl chuckled, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes. Hank's expression softened, giving the old man a smirk. 

His phone started ringing. Hank pulled it out of the internal pocket of his jacket and checked the caller ID.

“Connor?”

“It’s Mr. Williams’s dealers. Axton them lurking around the nightclub. Richard is already there, five more minutes and I’ll be on site as well.” Connor debriefed. Hank could hear the faint ticking of the turning signal being activated and deactivated briefly after. 

“Perfect, go ahead and take care of them in whatever way you find suitable.” he ordered. There was this rule among those in the drug dealing scene of Detroit — trespassing each other’s influence area was not tolerated, unless it was being allowed following mutual agreement. 

“Will do.” Connor confirmed and hung up. Hank sighed. Todd Williams had never been a major problem before, but apparently the man felt quite eager to test Hank’s patience limits as of lately. Hank decided he just needed to be taught a lesson.

————

The blue sedan came to a halt, parking behind two similarly coloured cars in front of the nightclub, currently closed in preparation of the opening hours later in the evening. Connor stepped out of the car and made his way down the alley that ran along the building’s left side. His brothers were giving him their backs as they faced a group of three. He could not see his brothers’ faces but he could see, however, the faces of the men in front of them. The lines of their faces hardened in annoyance. 

“Oh, you called in your brother too? Well, at least now we know it’s gonna be a fair fight!” one of them sneered, a grin slowly spreading on his face. Connor joined his brothers, standing in the middle. He stared down their opponents, raising an eyebrow. These guys were not going leave the alley on their own feet.

“We thought we made it pretty clear that trespassing will not be tolerated,” Connor stated, crossing his arms. His voice was calm and controlled. “have you not had enough?”

“Like we give a shit ‘bout your fucking rules, Anderson,” the man standing right in front of Connor spat out “not our fault if people 'round here want something more than your acid shit.” the three of them snickered.

“Oi, they wouldn’t even buy your shit had you not trespassed our area,” Axton roared, closing the distance between him and the man in the middle of the formation, the designated leader of that gang, pointing an accusing finger at his face “and I will make sure none of your shit gets into my club.”

“Ohh look how scared I am,” the man raised his hands in mockery before shoving Axton and confronting him. He lowered his head and tilted it slightly to the side, glaring at Axton “why don’t you go home to your daddy, uh? You might be feared by the people that surround you but only because they don’t have the balls to go against your word.” He paused, a challenging grin painted on his face and Axton itched to punch it off this moron’s face. 

“You fucking take that back or else.” Axton hissed. His brown eyes burning intense as if he could incinerate his opponent with his gaze alone.

The man scoffed, not giving up on this stare-down. “But us? We aren’t scared of you. You, your brothers… hell, even your father. You’re pathetic.” The man spat out before Axton’s gloved right fist connected with his jaw, making him tumble back and fall on his ass.

“You motherfu- get them!” He barked as he propped himself up, levelling on his elbow. His two companions reacted and so did Richard and Connor. 

A fist was swung at Connor’s face which he easily dodged by leaning back before expertly shifting his stance and successfully delivering an uppercut under the man’s chin. Before the man could stumble back from the violent hit he just received, Connor grabbed his head and shoved it downwards, meeting his lifted knee. He smirked as he heard the faint cracking noise of a nose being broken. The man stumbled back, his face a bloody mess.

In the meantime, Richard had been put in a rather unfair combat.

Richard stared down his opponent, studying ways to disarm him. The fool thought that bringing a metal baseball bat to the fight would give him an upper hand. The attacker moved to swing his bat but Richard blocked and disarmed him in a swift move, sliding in with his left shoulder against his opponent, closing on him so that he wouldn’t be able to swing. Just as quickly, Richard flexed his left arm clasping the other man’s arms together and striking his elbow against the side of his head. The man’s grip on the baseball bat loosened, enough for Richard to be able to swiftly grab it before shifting back on his stance and swing it, striking the previous owner with the opposite ending of the weapon. 

The leader of the gang was again back on his feet, spitting out a mix of blood and saliva before charging Axton. Axton readied himself and as soon the man was close enough, he kicked him back again with his back leg. 

“Come on,” Axton smirked “I know you can do better than that.” He teased as the other slowly closed the distance between them again.

The man went in for a direct punch but Axton readily deviated it downwards. In the same fluid movement, he slightly leaned back before kicking his adversary in his groin, causing the opponent to hunch on himself as he tried to strike a second punch. Axton took the chance to force him down, using the man’s blocked arm between his own as a leverage. He quickly switched his stance on his right leg, kneeing the man in his guts. His opponent coughed up blood and air, and before he could react, Axton had once again shifted on his left leg, this time kneeing him on his face with his right leg before throwing him to the ground. 

The gang didn’t stand a chance against the triplets and there was a lesson to be taught. The only exception was that the three men would become a clear example of what happens when Hank leaves free space to his sons.

When the brothers were done, two out of the three foes had long met their Creator. Only one was kept alive, although, alive wasn’t really the best way to describe his status. The boys preferred to keep the fighting out in the alleyway but due to their sense of decor, however twisted it was, they had then moved the bodies indoors — it was still daytime, after all.

There was an extra room in the back of the club storage room, with a sign on the door that read ‘ _ MANAGEMENT ONLY’.  _ Behind that door, the gang leader was sitting on a bar stool at the centre of the room, his arms handcuffed and propped up by a chain hanging from the ceiling. His head was limping forward as blood slowly trickled from his mouth. 

“Care to explain why you’re doing this?” Connor asked, as he and Richard came back after disposing of the bodies elsewhere. 

“Well, for starters, if I do recall your text correctly, dad did say that we were allowed to solve this in any way we deemed suitable, didn’t he?” Axton smirked, toying around with his switchblade “This is my suitable solution.” He tilted his head backwards, looking to the side where his twin was standing. A grin, that most people would’ve found rather disturbing, displayed on his face.

“Now, hold my jacket, will you?” Axton took off his leather jacket and held it up until Connor took care of it, draping it over his arms “Thank you, brother.”

He walked closer to the unconscious man before repeatedly slapping his cheeks “Wakey, wakey sleepy head. It’s time to play.” the sudden shift in the pitch of his voice was off-putting. 

The man slowly opened his eyes, grimacing as he lifted his head. He looked around and as soon as his vision focused, his eyes shot open as if he’d been woken up by a cold shower, suddenly highly aware of his surroundings.

“Where am I? What do you want from me?!” 

“Just wanted to have a little fun,” Axton sneered _ “ _ am I not allowed to do that?”

Axton had a twisted concept of having fun. There was no point in denying it and his brothers knew how sadistic their brother could be. According to his own vocabulary, fun had two definitions — to him, it meant playing around with his knife, leaving ominous messages on his victims’ skin and basically making them suffer as much as possible until they begged for death. The other being the socially acceptable option.

“I looked through your stuff, by the way. Hope you don’t mind that,” he wiggled his switchblade by the tip, as one would usually do with a pencil “oh, not that I would’ve cared anyway if you did.” he smiled. 

Axton started circling the man like an apex predator did with its prey. The only difference between what happened in nature, was that Axton did it purely for the satisfaction he found in watching his victims gradually slip into madness. 

“I found some interesting things, honestly” his voice was calm, but that hint of mockery was still there “let me begin by telling you how fucking predictable and  _ unoriginal _ of you to use your birth date and month as passcode on your phone, Mitchell.” He burst out laughing after exposing the man’s name. 

“You’re not gonna find anything on there.” Mitchell smirked. 

Axton stopped smiling. His brown eyes fixed on the man as he stopped in front of him. He reached out to cup his chin before squeezing hard enough to make man wince, the area still sensible from Axton’s punch. Mitchell had just played himself. 

“You know what I thought when I saw you and your stupid smirk?” He hissed. Eyes like daggers stared straight into the gang leader’s own “I thought, man, I  _ reeally  _ want to carve it off his bitch ass face.” He pressed the tip of his switchblade against the upper corner of the man’s mouth, applying enough pressure to draw a droplet of blood. 

Mitchell’s eyes widened as his heart threatened to burst out of his chest. There was nothing much he could do but try to wriggle away from Axton’s grasp, without much success.

“No please,” his voices croaked as he started to panic “let me go, please. I- I’m sorry, I was just doing what I’ve been ordered-“ Mitchell begged. His eyes wandered past Axton too, staring at both Connor and Richard, silently pleading for his life. 

“Oh? Breaking already, are we? Come on, where did your smug attitude from before go, Mitchell?” Axton snickered.

“Please, I’m begging you,” his breath itched “I- I’ll tell the others not to mess with your area anymore!” 

Someone behind Axton snorted. Mitchell’s eyes fell on Richard’s figure. He swore he had just seen him smirk and shake his head. 

“Don’t worry about that, you will be able to deliver the message.” Axton’s voice was calm again, luring Mitchell into a false promise. The man relaxed slightly.

“Thank you…” he said, almost in a whisper. 

Axton grinned maliciously “But only once I’m done with you.” 

He flipped his switchblade in his hand and steadied his grip on Mitchell’s face. A blood curling shriek coming from the man beneath his touch as Axton’s switchblade started carving his skin. 

The sharp blade glided effortlessly, drawing blood and cutting flesh along the way. Axton’s first work on Mitchell’s face was a bloody grin that started from both angles of his mouth, ran up his cheeks and ended right at the top of his ears. 

“Since you liked grinning  _ so much…”  _ Axton scoffed, but Mitchell couldn’t hear him — the man had passed out as the first few centimetres were carved into his skin. 

“I will let father know that the situation has been dealt with,” Connor slightly furrowed his eyebrows as he observed his brother’s knife-work. He opened his mouth as to say something before shutting it, thinking about his words before opening his mouth again “you know, I usually let you do your thing but… this is…” Connor gestured towards Mitchell and Axton rolled his eyes.

Sensing Connor’s incoming rant, Richard sighed and pushed Connor out of the room “Whatever you say, Con. Go talk to father,” he glanced back at Axton “just clean up the mess and dispose of the body , once you're done with him.” 

Axton grinned, giving his brother two bloody thumbs up for saving him from one of Connor’s rants “Will do!”

Once his brothers left, Axton went back to work. 

A text message came into Todd Williams’s phone.

_ NO LUCK WITH THE NIGHTCLUB AREA,  _ it read. Todd cussed under his breath before receiving a picture a few seconds after. The man’s face whitened as his face morphed into an expression of pure horror at the crude content of the picture. 

It was Mitchell. The permanent grin on his face was being held up by safety pins that pierced his cheeks, two bloody slashes running up to his temples from the corners of his mouth. Something had been carved onto his bare torso as well.

‘ _ I WILL NOT TRESPASS AGAIN’  _ and a second sentence that came with a smiley face —  _ ‘AX WAS HERE’  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! I'd like to apologise for being late with this third chapter, as you can see there was A LOT to work on. I hope you enjoyed it regardless! I had to look up some krav maga videos to help myself write the fighting scenes, I'll put a link to it in case you want to see more clearly the action! BONUS: I've also created a google docs with the visual references i'm using in case yall want to get a better image.  
RICHARD'S Fight scene: [ video ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXk0Oo9tgo)  
AXTON'S Fight scene: [ video ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41pYjI7nOxQ)  
VISUAL REFS: [ google doc ](https://docs.google.com/document/d/12yVL5i14sIncHcBCRxN5lYHEwrOj-xt4loD-gwAxCQo/edit?usp=sharing)

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome to Just a Small Family Business aka the mafia au nobody asked for. i was pretty nervous to post this as it's my first ever work for this amazing fandom but i guess it had to be done. im gonna be honest with you, the origin of this fanfiction is a mix of the need for more adventures of fatherly hank and his sons, a mood inspired by the song "bust your kneecaps".... and sleep deprivation. i'd like to apologise for that poor excuse of a summary but i've never been good with those *_distressed laughter_*  
anyway! i hope i'll be able to meet your expectations, if you have any tips or anything, im completely open to hear them, don't refrain from commeting! with that being said, i hope to see you on the next chapter! ^^


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